RockTenn Announces Limited Time Lump Sum Offering to More Than Nine Thousand Former Employees

July 11, 2014 10:58 ET | Source:WestRock Shared Services, LLC

NORCROSS, Ga., July 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RockTenn (NYSE:RKT) today announced that it is offering a one-time lump sum payment to certain eligible former employees who participate in the following U.S. Defined Benefit Pension Plans and are not currently receiving a monthly benefit:

Eligible former employees can voluntarily accept the offer from July 1 to August 5, 2014. A former employee who does not accept the offer continues to be entitled to his or her monthly pension at retirement. Based on the experience of other companies implementing similar programs, the Company's advisors estimate that former employees representing between $200 million and $300 million of the aggregate pension benefit obligation will accept the offer.

Distributions to eligible former employees will be made out of existing plan assets in the Company's fiscal fourth quarter. RockTenn will not be required to make additional contributions into these plans as a result of the proposed transaction. Each plan's funded status is expected to remain materially unchanged as a result of this offer.

"This offer provides certain eligible former employees who are not currently receiving a monthly benefit the opportunity to receive a lump sum payment and have more control over managing their retirement money," said Ward Dickson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of RockTenn. "We expect to offer a similar program to certain eligible former employees who participate in the Rock-Tenn Company Pension Plan for Certain Hourly Employees (SSCC) (formerly the Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation Pension Plan for Hourly Employees) later this year."

If you are a participant under the Rock-Tenn Company Pension Plan for Certain Salaried Employees (SSCC) (formerly the Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation Pension Plan For Salaried Employees) and need additional information, please contact the RockTenn Smurfit-Stone Pension Service Center at 800-864-3966 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time, Monday through Friday.

If you are a participant under either the Rock-Tenn Company Consolidated Pension Plan or the RTS Packaging, LLC Consolidated Pension Plan and need additional information, please contact the Rock-Tenn Retirement Service Center at 866-612-8188 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Monday through Friday.

Cautionary Statements

Statements in this release that do not relate strictly to historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, beliefs, plans or forecasts and use words such as will, estimate, anticipate, project, intend, or expect, or refer to future time periods, and include statements made in this release regarding, among other things, our advisor's estimate that former employees representing between $200 million and $300 million of the aggregate pension benefit obligation will accept the lump sum offer described in this release. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties including with respect to our expectations regarding the actual number and composition of the participants who will elect the lump sum offer. These expectations are based on assumptions that management believes are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements because these risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. There are many other factors and uncertainties that impact these forward-looking statements that we cannot predict accurately, including the actual number and composition of the participants who will elect the lump sum offer. Further, our business is subject to a number of general risks that would affect any such forward-looking statements including, among others, decreases in demand for our products; increases in energy, raw materials, shipping and capital equipment costs; reduced supply of raw materials; fluctuations in selling prices and volumes; intense competition; the potential loss of certain key customers; changes in environmental and other governmental regulation; and adverse changes in general market and industry conditions. These risks are more particularly described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the caption "Business―Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013. The information contained in this release speaks as of the date hereof and we do not undertake any obligation to update this information as future events unfold.

About RockTenn

RockTenn (NYSE:RKT) is one of North America's leading providers of packaging solutions and manufacturers of containerboard and paperboard. RockTenn's 26,000 employees are committed to exceeding their customers' expectations – every time. The company operates locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Argentina. For more information, visit www.rocktenn.com.

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